Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn is copyrighted to Amano Akira-sensei. The name Sakamoto Akira is copyrighted to the creator of Princess Princess. I am, once again, only a loyal fan to both series. ^^ Please enjoy!
Chapter Two: Introductions
His hand slipped off her shoulder and rested on the other side of her back. They were leaning against each other so comfortably, Tsuna found it difficult to look directly at Yamamoto and his mysterious visitor as he thought. Pink burned brightly on the Vongola Decimo's cheeks. "U-um…" he began hesitantly, and looked up from his toes only to find two pairs of eyes glowing with curiosity.
"You can do it Tenth!" Gokudera beamed.
"G-girlfriend..?" Tsuna offered, the pink on his face rapidly being replaced by red. He shifted from side to side a little awkwardly, waiting.
Yamamoto laughed. "What about you Gokudera?"
The Italian gave him a look that clearly said: You are too stupid to live. "I agree with whatever Juudaime says, of course! Now stop wasting the Tenth's time on such a mindless activity and tell us the real answer already!"
"Wrong."
"W-what?" he stared at her, momentarily caught off-guard.
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her expression a smile. "I said you're wrong." Averting her eyes to Yamamoto, she giggled. "Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am not Takeshi's girlfriend. I am his cousin, and my name is-"
"Sakamoto Akira. 15 years old. Student of Tokyo's prestigious Ginrei Academy, class 2-D." interrupted a childish voice from the windowsill.
There was a pause of silence before:
"R-Reborn!!"
"Yo kid!"
"Reborn-san!"
Akira tilted her head at the fedora wearing infant. In one swift movement, he had jumped from the window to the bed, landing with a soft muted thump. "Ciaossu."
"Reborn! What are you doing here?!" Tsuna yelled. He didn't seem too happy to see the baby.
A smirk crossed the small hitman's face. "I'm here to welcome the new member to your family of course, Dame-Tsuna. In order to achieve important accomplishments, a mafia boss needs strong subordinates."
"HIII!!! Don't talk about the mafia in front of Yamamoto's cousin!"
"Reborn-san! I disagree! That baseball idiot is trouble enough for the Tenth to deal with! We don't need another burden!" The Storm Guardian quickly objected. He didn't see anything special about the girl, other than the fact that her last name sounded extremely similar to her cousin's.
"Don't underestimate her, Gokudera." Reborn replied. "Akira has been named the tennis prodigy of this century, claiming the crown at the national games exactly three times in a row. She even got invited to play outside the country at the U.S Open. Tsuna, you could learn a thing or two from her."This explanation earned itself two very different reactions.
"W-wow! Sakamoto-san! That's amazing!"
"O-oi baseball idiot! Is this true?!"
"Maa." Yamamoto grinned. "How did you know all this, kid?"
Reborn merely smiled. "I am Tsuna's at-home tutor. I just know these things." He leapt onto Akira's lap, and settled down comfortably. "Introduce yourselves, Tsuna, Gokudera." he commanded.
"R-right! I-I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can just call me Tsuna, Sakamoto-san."
She looked delighted. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sawada-kun. Since you're Takeshi's friend, you can just call me Akira, or Akira-chan. There's no need for formalities."
Gokudera made a little 'tsk' sound under his breath. At least she knew how to address people properly. "Gokudera Hayato, and I'm the Tenth's right-hand man!" the last part was said with a lot of enthusiasm and worship for his boss.
"Good." Reborn nodded in approval. "From now, Akira, you are officially a part of Tsuna's family." Seeing her expression of slight bewilderment he added. "Think of it like a roleplay game."
Looking at her cousin and Tsuna's smiling faces, plus Gokudera's slightly annoyed one, Akira smiled readily in agreement. Even though she still didn't understand the whole picture, she had a feeling that she would enjoy their company. "Sure."
-080-
The small group of teenagers were now seated on the floor of Yamamoto's bedroom. Their empty coke cans piled up in the trash bin. They had been here for quite a while now, talking about themselves and making casual conversation. That is, if you can call Gokudera threatening to attack Yamamoto with explosives every five seconds 'casual'.
"So…Akira-chan," Tsuna laughed nervously, "why did you move here from Ginrei Academy? I heard that it's a really good school."
"It is." She replied with a small laugh. "Takeshi. Why don't you explain why I'm here? It would sound a lot less me-centric this way." She had long gotten past the silver haired Italian's insults at her cousin, putting it off just as their way of getting along with each other, much to the relief of a certain brunet.
"Sure!" was the cheerful reply. "You see, Tsuna, both of Akira's parents are entrepreneurs."
Gokudera looked amused for a change. Never thought I would hear that word from the baseball idiot's vocabulary. He thought with a small sneer.
"-and when they decided to move to the United States for business reasons, she didn't want to go with them. Dad and I offered to let her stay with us at Namimori, and that's how she ended up here."
"Speaking of Namimori, Akira, have you been to your new middle school yet? Tsuna can show you around."a familiar high pitched voice interrupted again.
"R-Reborn! Today's a Saturday!" Tsuna shook his head frantically. He knew that his tutor was planning something by that dangerous glint in his eyes, and whatever it was, was not going to be good.
"It was just a suggestion." The infant replied, smirking.
"Actually, that might not be a bad idea at all." Akira chimed. Jumping up, she grabbed both Yamamoto and Tsuna, and headed towards the door. "Let's go~"
It took a second for Gokudera to comprehend what was going on. "H-hey!" Leaping out of his seat, he immediately bolted after them. "Stop dragging the Tenth around like that you overly excited woman!"
As their voices disappeared from the vicinity altogether, Reborn's smirk only grew wider under the shadow of his fedora. In the distance, on the rooftop of Namimori Middle School, a red badge outlined in gold shimmered under the amber rays of the sun. Hibari Kyouya yawned as he rested on his back, targeting the sky with his piercing blue eyes.
